From today’s paper on a subject on which the Daily Mail too has been critical of the government’s plans:

A paper by senior Tory MP Andrew Tyrie – a campaigner on human rights – and leading QC Anthony Peto, calls on the government to rewrite its plans to hold court cases covering national security behind closed doors…

The report calls for new rules which would mean summaries of the national security sensitive information be provided to the excluded party and his or her legal representatives.

It demands a five year sunset clause, which would force Parliament to reconsider how the secret courts are operating in the next Parliament.

The report warns that MPs must also stand firm to oppose the removal of the courts’ power to hear applications which seek the disclosure of information held by UK authorities, in cases deemed to be “sensitive”.

This was the principle used by detainee Binyam Mohamed’s lawyers when he was contesting charges that could have resulted in the death penalty.

‘Removing it will make it harder to uncover official wrongdoing in matters such as extraordinary rendition,’ the report argues.

And Mr Tyrie also argues that Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee be given far more powers to hold the security services to account.